Welsh providers

From 1 August 2017, the automatic designation of full-time higher education courses applies only to courses provided by 'recognised educational institutions'.

A 'recognised educational institution' is defined as any of the following:

• a Welsh-regulated institution, meaning an institution which has a fee and access plan approved by the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (Medr) under Section 7 of the Higher Education (Wales) Act 2015 while that plan remains in force
• an English-regulated institution, that is an institution maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from OfS
• an institution in Scotland or Northern Ireland that is maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds

If a higher education course is not automatically designated, the Welsh Ministers will need to specifically designate the course before students can apply for financial support from the Welsh Government.